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Thursday, April 26, 2018

Russian scientist who invented nerve agent that poisoned Russian spy and his daughter in UK is knocked down by car

The scientist who created nerve gas Novichok, which was used in poisoning former spy Sergei Skripal in the UK, has been hit by a car in Russia.

Vladimir Uglev, 71, was hit at a pedestrian crossing near his home, which is close to the Black Sea resort of Anapa. He jumped on to the bumper and crashed through the windscreen in order to avoid getting under the wheels of the vehicle.

The accident left him with injuries to his head, arms, and legs. Uglev was strong enough to talk following the crash after undergoing an MRI for his head injuries.

He said: "I noticed that the car was going fast, not slowing down ahead of the crossing. I started to run and nearly reached the end of the crossing, when the car got me."

The driver of the vehicle was an unidentified 70-year-old man who lived locally, according to The Bell news. He was said to have stopped at the scene after the incident and a police investigation is currently underway to determine what caused the crash.

Uglev, who first synthesised Novichok in 1975 when he was working for the USSR, said he did not believe he was targeted deliberately. The nerve gas Novichok is at the centre of an international row between Russia and the UK. Uglev has been widely quoted since the British claim it was used in a chemical weapon attack on ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33.

Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia Skripal

Following the attack on Skripal, Uglev made some comments regarding Novichok which may have upset Russian officials. He raised concerns about the security of Russian nerve agent stocks after the collapse of the USSR and said he could not exclude some lab workers might have been tempted to sell toxic substances.